Clos Martin 1985 Vintage Armagnac 40%

Description

Clos Martin 1985 Vintage Armagnac is a single vintage, single grape variety Armagnac. It is made using only Folle Blanche grapes harvested in 1985 and it is bottled as an Appellation Bas-Armagnac Controlee. This will make a great 40th birthday present for anyone born in 1985.

Clos Martin Armagnac is meticulously crafted by M&T, a well-known producer located near Nogaro in the heart of Bas-Armagnac, one of the most esteemed subregions of the Armagnac appellation. M&T owns and manages a network of domains that produce Armagnac across the Landes and Gers departments of southwestern France. The production process is expertly supervised by cellar master José Barbe, ensuring consistency and excellence in every bottle.

Armagnac is a traditional French brandy from the South-West made by distilling white wine and ageing it in oak barrels. It is protected by its Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) status, which guarantees its origin and adherence to traditional methods. To qualify as Armagnac, the spirit must be bottled at a minimum of 40% ABV and come exclusively from designated regions. Distillation occurs only during the winter months, starting in November and concluding by March 31 of the year following the grape harvest.

The traditional stills employed by Clos Martin’s domains are exceptionally small and designed to allow a lot of the heavy, congener and fusel-rich vapours to pass over with the heart of the distillate. Therefore Clos Martin’s Armagnacs always have a rich, earthy character and are fine, flavoursome and well-balanced. Clos Martin Armagnac undergoes an extensive ageing process in oak barrels, where the spirit slowly evolves over time. Around the 10-year mark, the Armagnac reaches a point where its true quality begins to shine. By this stage, the continuous still distillation reveals its unique virtues, offering a spirit that is perfectly balanced, complex, and rounded.

Clos Martin’s Armagnacs are all bottled as Bas Armagnac. Bas Armagnac is one of the three main subregions within the Armagnac appellation in southwestern France, alongside Ténarèze and Haut-Armagnac. It lies to the west and northwest of the Armagnac region, covering parts of the Gers and Landes departments and is Renowned for producing some of the finest and most highly regarded Armagnacs. The region’s sandy, siliceous, and silt-rich soils, known locally as “boulbènes” and “sables fauves” (tawny sands), are particularly well-suited to grape cultivation. This unique terroir imparts lightness, finesse, and complexity to the resulting eaux-de-vie.

Clos Martin 1985 Vintage Armagnac has been distilled from wines made exclusively from the Folle Blanche grape (aka Gros Plant) which is well known for lending delicacy and spiciness to the aroma and flavour of the Armagnac. This bottling comes from a single cask from a single estate, “Domaine de Courros”. The distillation was carried out by Monsieur Ponsola, one of the region’s professional distillers. The new distillate was transferred to casks made from the local oaks grown on the estate. The precious liquid then waited patiently in the cellars under Cellar Master, Denise’s, expert eye until it was ready to see the light again.